


In the Silence After

by Alexander_L



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Black Eagles Mercedes von Martritz, Black Eagles Sylvain Jose Gautier, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, Post-Battle of Garreg Mach (Fire Emblem)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexander_L/pseuds/Alexander_L
Summary: After turning their backs on the church and the nobility in the Battle of Garreg Mach, Sylvain and Mercedes wonder if they made the right choice and find refuge from the uncertainty in the comfort of each other's presence.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Mercedes von Martritz
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	In the Silence After

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what this is. I fell into a haze and emerged with this piece instead of the one I should have been working on. Mercedes is comforting to write though and now I think I'll fall asleep peacefully.

“Sylvain-” she began, but when she paused to raise the wine bottle to her lips she forgot what was supposed to follow it.

“Yes, Mercedes?” he asked in a tone hardly louder than a breath, continuing to stare blankly at the crumbled altar as he had for the past half an hour.

She drained the last dregs of the ceremonial wine and set the bottle aside on the dusty stone floor. The taste of it lingered dry and bitter on her tongue but the hazy relief of it seeped into the corners of her mind and muffled every panicked and plaintive thought to a quiet hum.

“Sylvain?” she said again.

“Yes?”

“Do you think it’s possible for the goddess to forgive us?”

He tore his gaze away from the desecrated altar for the first time, looking over at her, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to find a reply and his brow furrowed. Gone was his usual defenses and his eyes held all the same anguish and uncertainty Mercedes had been trying to dull with the wine. As she gazed into them, she felt emotion rise up to choke her throat, her eyes stinging with tears and her heart aching so strongly it throbbed in her chest.

“I… don’t know,” he finally replied, dulled from the liquor as well. “People sure won’t.”

Her tears broke free and streamed down her cheeks and Mercedes tried to speak but a sob stole away her words and she hid her face in her hands in shame. As much as she told other people while comforting them that it was alright to cry and tears were nothing to be ashamed of, she never let herself cry in front of anyone. Especially on this heartbreaking day when it felt like they had gotten everything they wanted and yet lost all they loved, Mercedes had sworn to herself that she would not break down. Her friends needed her healing touch and unfailing smile.

Sylvain wrapped his arms around her and she melted into them, curling up against his chest and allowing herself to be held as she shook with silent sobs. 

“Sshh, I’ve got you,” he whispered, his arms tightening around her. Somehow the small gesture of comfort made her cry all the harder.

“What if we made the wrong-” But Mercedes couldn’t get the rest of the words out. She sniffed and leaned her face in the crook of Sylvain’s neck. His skin was cold and smelled of sweat, ash and the vulneries that had only narrowly kept him alive today. It was a smell Mercedes was starting to associate with death now more than life and it brought to mind along with it the stench of blood and magic burns.

Mercedes nuzzled Sylvain’s neck and pressed her lips softly against his skin, the only thought in her head that she wanted to warm it. It was so cold. As she pressed closer, she noticed that distinct from the scent of battle there was still a smell that clung to him that was not one brought on from the struggles of the day – a subtle citrus smell. Was it the soap he used to wash his clothes or an oil in his perfectly tousled hair? She couldn’t tell but it reassured her in a way she couldn’t express, reassured her that there was  _ Sylvain _ under the blood and sweat and tears and that both she and him, despite everything, were still themselves.

Sylvain cupped her cheek in his tired callused hand and tipped her face up so her mouth could find his. His lips were chapped and his mouth tasted of the bitter wine, but he was tender and, at last, warm and that was all that mattered.

Slipping one hand behind his head, Mercedes pulled him in to kiss him deeper and with the other hand she combed her fingers through his hair, drawing a small noise like a sigh or moan from him, satisfied more than sensual.

“You were saying something,” Sylvain whispered as they broke apart. “What… what was it?”

“Nothing,” she answered. “I answered my own question.”

“Oh.”

Mercedes leaned up to kiss him again because she was too overwhelmed to speak and Sylvain was too exhausted to listen. All she really wanted to say anyways was that she felt brave enough to face the uncertainty when he was with her, and she didn’t need words for that.

After a minute, Sylvain moved out of her arms and stood up, a bit shaky at first as his tired legs trembled. Then he steadied himself and reached down to lift her to her feet. Mercedes took one last look at the altar, then turned away. Taking Sylvain’s hand, she walked with him out of the cathedral.

Mercedes wasn’t sure exactly where she was going; Garreg Mach was no longer the place it had been a day before. But somehow they ended up in her old room, where Sylvain peeled off his dusty, bloodstained clothes and collapsed onto the bed. After changing into a nightgown, Mercedes settled down next to him and tugged the sheets up over them both. 

Her head was spinning from the liquor that was still holding at bay most of the horrors of the day, but not all. And yet as she rolled onto her side and tucked her arm around Sylvain’s waist, there was just enough peace in her mind that she could fall asleep. 


End file.
